A mother and daughter have been arrested after they tried to hire a hit man. Walthall and Rankin County Deputies along with Agents of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation arrested Tanja and Lauren Peavy for conspiracy to Commit Murder.
On October 15th, 2018, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Chief Detective Jerry Martin of the Walthall County Sheriff’s Office. Detective Martin provided information about individuals from Rankin County inquiring about hiring a “hitman.”
Walthall and Rankin County Deputies along with Agents of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations identified the suspects as Tanja R. Peavy and Lauren A. Peavy of Rankin County. An undercover Rankin County Deputy posed as a contract killer and made contact with the Peavy’s and they offered to pay the deputy $500.00 to have their target “taken out.”
The target was identified as a relative of the mother and daughter and on October 22nd, the two women were arrested at their home in Florence without incident and were charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder.
Sheriff Bryan Bailey thanked all the agencies involved in the investigation including, District Attorney Michael Guest and his staff, the Walthall County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and his staff, the US Marshals Taskforce and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
“Corroboration between law enforcement agencies in cases like this makes our communities safer,” said Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey.
Tanja and her daughter Lauren Peavy are set to have an initial appearance before Rankin County Court Judge Kent McDaniel.
